Far Off Dawn
by Razorwind's Angel
Summary: The discovery of other realities calls for the Gundam pilots to make an emergency rescue mission to a ruined world. But strange things start to happen once the two survivors are brought to thier reality. Can these strange desturbances be stopped before an
1. Forward

Far Off Dawn forward

Far Off Dawn 

Forward

Okay this is a little strange to begin with so I'll try to clear some things up in this part so I don't get a million and one questions. 

First thing, this is a Gundam Wing/Neon Genesis Evangelion cross over based off the end of 'End of Evangelion' instead of Episodes 25 and 26, which were really just a look in to Shinji Ikari's mind more than anything. Not that there was anything wrong with that (despite what most EVA enthusiasts ranted about), and personally I think that it cleared a lot of things up. Then again once upon a strange time I wanted to be a Psychology major…

Sorry, I'll stop rambling now…

Anyway, this story deals with alternate realities. I'm using what a few of my friends and I call the 'Chrono Cross Theory', taken from the Chrono Trigger/Cross game series. It states that if a person was to go back in time to say…the Civil War, and changed who won this battle, then time would split it two, making two different realties. One where the future has been unchanged by this manipulation, and the other where the future has been changed and therefore the future is different. This is what's going on in the EVA and GW realities…er…kinda. Seeing as GW takes place in the far future, and EVA takes place in the near future, basically EVA hasn't had a chance to catch up to GW. Does that make any sense? Trust me this is ten times easier to explain verbally than writing it down like this…

Secondly, this is taken from the End of Evangelion, so Shinji and Asuka are the only two left on a dead planet. Only it's been three years since it happened, they're now 17, and some how the EVA 5 through 13 units have been reactivated. Shinji and Asuka are fighting to survive with out their own EVA units in the ruined Tokyo-3. 

Thirdly, this will be explained a little bit more in the story, but the technology in the GW reality has advanced so far that they have found the existence of other realities, EVA's in particular. Like the movie Stargate, they've set up an organization within Preventers to search out and investigate these realities. This is where the pilots come in. They've been asked to do a recon mission to the EVA reality with their Gundams (yeah, in my version they never got destroyed. I'm attached to the damn things, okay!! Like you can't sit there at the end of Endless Waltz and NOT say it sucked they destroyed them…) because every other mission sent there has failed miserably. Oh…right before I forget this takes place a year after Endless Waltz in the GW reality. 

Lastly…

Yes I have become a self-proclaimed yaoi fan, but for the sake of this story there's not going to be any yaoi. Sorry! You'll see why as the story progresses though.

I'm thinking that's pretty much it. If there is any other confusion in this story just ask me in a review and I'll try to clear what I can up. I've just recently finished watching the entire series of EVA and although I understood the last two episodes, I'm still a little stuck on what happened in EoE, so there might be a few (hundred) things that are off in this story. If I've totally screwed up just tell me in the review and I will try to fix what I can. It would help if you tell me how to fix what I royally goofed on, too.

This isn't, however, a right to completely flame me and diss me. Opinions are nice, and very much wanted, but down right flaming because you think the whole idea of GW and EVA is totally f***ed up isn't what I want. 

Ah just go read the story!! If it's really that bad I'll take it down! But…if you like it…*evil grin* who knows I may do more like this…


	2. Prolouge

Spread Your Wings and Fly

Far Off Dawn 

By Razorwind's Angel (My first cross over fic! YAY!)

A Gundam Wing/ Neon Genesis Evangelion AU cross over fiction

Rated R for language and graphic violence

I don't own them damn it now leave me alone or I'll go ZERO! *Maniacal laughter* Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, respective characters, names, and Mechs are copyright Sunrise, Bandai, and Sotsu Agency. 

Neon Genesis Evangelion, respective characters, names, and Mechs are copyright Gainax.

This story idea is copyright Mercury Novelist Inc., so HA!

Prologue

Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langley Soryu watched as several explosions rocked the dead earth around them. In the nearly demolished forest before them three green mobile suits took on a huge white EVA unit that was absolutely slaughtering them. 

"That's the fourth team that's failed." Shinji stated as the wind whipped around them, billowing out Asuka's auburn hair behind her and blowing Shinji's brown bangs in to his eyes. He looked over at the skinny girl standing next to him and noticed the pained expression on her pale face as the lights of the explosions reflected in her eyes.

"Do you think they're going to keep sending troupes here?" she asked in a soft voice. It was amazing how much Asuka had changed since the Third Impact had left them the only two remaining humans left on a dead planet. Once the loud, arrogant, snotty pilot of Evangelion Unit 02, Asuka had receded inside herself, hardly speaking, often found looking off in to space with a distant, depressed look. Any of her emotions were kept under lock and key whenever she was around Shinji, but he occasionally caught her crying to herself in the middle of the night. 

The last of the green mobile suits went up in a fiery blaze, and Shinji grimaced, thinking of the helpless pilot within. The huge white EVA unit raised its head from the fallen mobile suit and gave an evil grin to the two figures on the hill.

"Let's get out of here." Shinji said, gently taking Asuka by the arm and pulling her down the eroded hillside. As they headed back to the ruins of Tokyo-3 Asuka couldn't help but think of what had been happening the past few weeks. 

Shinji and Asuka had been struggling to survive as it was in the ruins of Tokyo-3 and the Geo Front underneath the city. Food was being come by less and less and the two wary survivors were getting thinner and thinner. It being human instinct to live on even through the toughest of times, nether wanted to give in to death that easily. Then a ray of hope appeared like a beacon through a foggy night. Several strange robots, a little smaller than EVA units came to them one day. There were other humans inside, piloting the giant contraptions. They claimed to be from another reality where human life was flourishing and people lived in space. They had come to explore this reality in hopes of discovering new technology, but only found a nearly dead planet that looked like it had been pulled through hell and restored to it's place in the universe. The captain of this team, Captain Willis, had said he'd been surprised to see life here, but was relieved that there had been some survivors. 

The team has spent several days in Tokyo-3 with Asuka and Shinji, telling them tales of their home world and planning an escape for them. Asuka and Shinji told Willis and his team their sad tale of alien Angels and global destruction that ended with were they were today. Willis's plan never went through, much to the dismay of the two teenagers.

Willis had just shown the two teens the gigantic portal that they had come through, a portable device built by scientists in their world to take from reality to reality. Just as they were getting ready to leave, a self run EVA unit that had been dormant since the Third Impact came to life unexpectedly and slaughtered the mobile suit team. 

Willis, in a last ditch effort, sent all his information on the reality and the survivors back to the home world, and saved Asuka's life before dying. 

Willis's home world continued to try and rescue the two, but every mission failed miserably when the EVA units miraculously came to life and easily defeated the mobile suits. 

_I wonder if we're ever going to make it out of here alive…I don't want to die…_Asuka felt tears welling up in her eyes but quickly pushed them back, along with her morbid thoughts. 

"Asuka?" Shinji suddenly broke in to Asuka's brooding. Asuka hadn't noticed how close the two of them were to Tokyo-3, and realized that she had been concentrating so much on her thoughts she hadn't been paying attention to much else. 

"Hai, Shinji?" 

"What's going to happen if they can't rescue us?" her friend asked in an all too deathly serious tone.Asuka stopped walking and looked at Shinji with fear in her eyes, one of the few times she ever let herself show emotion.

"Then we die here…" 


	3. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Preventer HQ

Duo Maxwell's head fell on the table rather roughly and a choked, surprised, and horrified whimper emitted from his throat. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, but then again he realized that none of his fellow Gundam pilot friends could believe it either. Quatre Raberba Winner just shook his head and muttered Arabic under his breath, staring wide-eyed at the picture before them. There were tears in his aqua eyes and occasionally he would let out a tiny squeak of shock.Wufei Chang was leaning back in his chair with his head thrown back against the backrest and his arms folded across his chest. He seemed to be trying to concentrate on regulating his breathing. Trowa Barton had his head in his hands. Heero Yuy just stared at the monitor that displayed a static covered image of a gaunt boy and girl in torn, dirty clothes running from some huge white thing, an explosion lighting up the screen behind them. He seemed fixated and appalled at the same time, but being 'The Perfect Soldier' it was still hard to tell exactly what was going through his mind at the time. 

The news of other realities existing and been shocking enough news as it was, but the news that a reality only one over from their own had seen a literal Apocholypse and that there was still two survivors running around was almost sickening to Duo. Their pictures showed that they had been living off barely anything, and their appearance was so distressed and helpless that it made even the happy-go-lucky Deathscythe Hell pilot depressed. 

_This proves it…there is no God. What kind of God would let two kids live in such a hellish world?_

__"You alive over there, Maxwell?" came Wufei's snippy voice.

"I wish I wasn't." Duo muttered, hiding his face with his arms and trying to keep himself from hurling all over the place. 

_They're all alone…everyone's dead…it's just like L2…everyone was dead around me…_

"You guys don't have to take this mission." Lucrezia Noin said from the head of the briefing table, "We're asking you this simply because we have sent five units there now and none have returned. We've gotten some information on what has been causing their demise, but it's not much. There are two survivors in this reality and they need rescuing quick. It's up to you what you want to do."

"If you guys don't take this mission, though, we're not sure how much more man power we can waste on trying to get them." Sally Po intervened, hoping to give the five young Gundam pilots a little push in to the mission. 

"I accept the mission." Heero said in his usual monotone, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs as he glanced to Wufei.

"I…" Wufei trailed off momentarily. He pulled his head back up and gazed at the screen again, frowning in thought; "It would be an injustice if they're just left there." Wufei then turned his attention to Trowa, who raised his head slowly and ran his hands through his long light brown bangs. His hair instantly fell back in to its original place, one long swept over part covering one of his shining emerald eyes. 

"What else can we do? Wufei's right, it would be just wrong to leave them there." He spoke with a heavy heart. Trowa looked to Quatre who was sitting beside him and saw the Arab pilot shed a tear over the scene before them. He reached over and gently placed a hand on Quatre's shoulder, breaking the blonde's concentration and making him look in his direction, "Quatre?" he questioned. 

"I…I…" Quatre stuttered, his lips quavering horribly. He dropped his head in to his hands and sobbed loudly, his shoulders wracking with each sob. Tears fell on the dark blue table from Quatre's eyes and Trowa instinctively put his arm around Quatre's shoulder, pulling him close and letting the boy cry.

"It's so horrible…I can't believe…I can't…" Quatre stammered through his choked sobs. 

"Quatre, are you in or out?" Heero said, a tiny hint of irritation creeping in to his voice.

"Don't be so callous, Heero." Trowa snapped bitterly, rubbing Quatre's shoulder softly. 

"If he doesn't want to do it, it's fine by me. We can do it on our own." Heero retorted without so much as a sign of remorse for his harsh words.

"No I'll…" Quatre sniffled and pulled his head back up, rubbing his eyes with the back of his small hands, "I'll do it. I'm in." 

With Quatre now in the party, that left Duo Maxwell's vote to deal with. Heero nudged his braided comrade a little roughly in the ribs and was surprised when Duo didn't cry out in protest. 

"Duo." Heero snapped. Duo still did not move. He kept his head down and his shoulders hunched, his long chestnut braid draped over one shoulder and around his folded arms.

"Duo we need an answer." Wufei demanded, getting equally irritated. 

"W…w…" Duo tumbled over his words. For the first time since any of the Gundam pilots had known the American, Duo Maxwell was left speechless.

"Duo…" Quatre urged, getting up out of his seat and walking over to his friend. He bent down near his seat so he was eye level with Duo and brushed his long bangs out of his face. Duo glanced up at him with one watery amethyst eye, "Are you all right?"

"I'm gonna be sick…" he muttered, burying his face deeper in his arms. Heero could hear Duo attempt to take deep, calming breaths that only came out as shaky gasps, "This is unbelievable…" he continued in a muffled voice. The images of his home colony just wouldn't leave his mind, and his stomach was churning inside him. 

"Yes or no, Duo." Heero snipped again. This time Quatre gave him a mean look.

"Heero stop it! You're not helping!" he yelled rather angrily, surprising everyone in the room but Heero by the tone of his voice. 

"He needs to make a decision." Heero replied, attempting to disarm Quatre with one very angry look. Quatre wasn't fazed, he just returned the look with the same amount of intensity. 

"You shouldn't pressure him in to things like that, Heero." Quatre spat, "He's obviously upset and you're just being a jerk." He added, getting to his feet. Heero did the same, pushing the chair back and walking up to Quatre, standing just inches from the Arab.

"And you're going to do something about it?" Heero asked him, keeping his tone low and even. 

"I…" Quatre bumbled around for a moment with his wording, "We're friends." He reasoned, "We shouldn't be arguing with each other like this." 

From across the room Wufei snorted.

"Ever the peacemaker, ne, Winner?" he quipped in a very cynical voice, "Never could throw a punch, could you, Blondie?" he continued to ridicule Quatre, who was just turning redder in the face by the second. Trowa jumped up from his seat then, pointing a menacing finger at the Chinese pilot. Meanwhile Duo continued to try and keep himself from losing his lunch right then. 

"You keep your damn comments to yourself, Chang." Trowa cursed vehemently. Wufei was out of his seat in a second, grabbing Trowa by the shirt collar.

"You really are pushing it, Barton." Wufei seethed angrily, his black eyes flaming with fury. Trowa just stared down at him with one green eye, getting ready to strike the other pilot down. 

"Stop it you guys!" Sally tried to plead with the four angry pilots.

"I wouldn't have a problem if Heero would just stop being so rude to Duo! He's upset and Heero won't leave him alone!" Quatre cried out in a slightly whiny voice.

"I wouldn't have a problem if some people wouldn't cross lines they're not supposed to." Heero retorted, starting at Quatre with contempt.

"Well some people need to learn to keep comments to themselves." Trowa growled, grabbing Wufei's arm and yanking the martial arts master's hand off his shirt. That was one wrong move Trowa was going to seriously regret. Wufei smirked confidently and grabbed Trowa's hand. With one fluid motion he had Trowa crying out in pain on the floor, the sickening sound of several vertebrae cracking loudly still echoing in every one's ears. A few rolling chairs were sent flying to other ends of the room, and papers were scattered about. Trowa tried to get to his feet but screamed out when hot pain went rushing through his right shoulder. Even Duo was now looking at Trowa with worry, his complexion rather pale and his lips sickeningly white.

"Trowa!" Quatre cried out, rushing to Trowa's side along with Sally. While Sally was checking him over, Quatre glared daggers at Wufei, "What did you do that for!" he screamed.

"He asked for it." The Chinese boy shrugged it off as though it where no big deal. 

"He only partially dislocated his shoulder, but I'm still going to have to take him in." Sally informed the group aloud. With Quatre's help they were able to get the HeavyArms pilot to his feet and started out the door. Heero walked around the table and faced Wufei, who was sneering at the other boy.

"What?" he snarled. Before Wufei even had a chance to react Heero sent him reeling with one swift punch to the face.

"Don't ever do that again." Heero threatened, walking back over to his spot and sitting down. Wufei scrambled to his feet, holding his bloody nose with his hand. He had half a mind to show Heero what he was really made of, but a tiny voice at the back of his mind told him to leave well enough alone. 

"Hai…" he muttered, sitting back down and taking some tissues handed to him by Noin. Noin flopped back down in her chair and sighed, glancing at Duo who was staring in to space. 

"Have you come to a decision, Duo?" She asked softly. Duo's mouth opened and closed in surprise. Some how his eyes wandered back to the screen that still showed the picture of the boy and girl on the other reality. He felt the horrible taste of bile rise up in his throat and he bolted out of his chair, holding his mouth and gagging. Noin let out another sigh and gave a pleading look to Heero. Heero nodded and got out of his seat, heading after Duo.

"Heero…" Noin started just before Heero made it to the door of the briefing room.

"Hai?"

"Don't be too hard on him…"

Duo sat on the cold tile floor, hung over the toilet in the men's bathroom, sweat dripping down his pale face, making his brown bangs stick to his forehead. Horrifying images of deathly ill people dropping like flies around him ran through his mind, causing his all ready upset stomach to do more flip-flops. He squeezed his eyes shut tight and tried to rid his mind of the memories, but it only made it ten times worse.

_"Solo! Solo, don't die! I've got the antidote! You're gonna be fine, right!"_

_"It's too late for me, kid…"_

_"SOLO!"_

__Duo's eyes shot open wide and he felt another round of retching coming on. As much as he desperately tried to suppress it, the nausea soon won over and he found himself praying to the porcelain god all over again. The bathroom door creaked open and soft footsteps could be heard outside the stall.

"Duo?" Heero's nonchalant monotone voice greeted the sick pilot.

"What do you want?" Duo snapped angrily once he was sure he could speak without retching again. 

"I'm checking on you." Heero replied.

"Noin made you didn't she?" Duo grumbled, pushing the bathroom stall door open, "I'm fine." He said to the dark haired man leaning against the sinks.

"You don't look fine." Heero stated.

"Well I am." Duo mumbled, attempting to get to his feet. He failed miserably when his quavering legs gave out from underneath him and he wound up back on the floor. The motion jarred his stomach more than he would have liked and he realized there was no way he was going to hold the next one in. He turned back to the toilet and let it all out, his sore throat protesting horribly against the feeling of stomach acid coming up. He suddenly felt some one take his braid and lift it above his head, out of the way. 

"Gomen, Duo." Heero said suddenly. Duo continued to gag as he looked over his shoulder, seeing Heero kneeling down beside him holding his braid out of harm's way. 

"For what?" he croaked out.

"The way I treated you."

"You're not sorry." Duo snapped, feeling another round of bile come up. He held it down long enough to say, "You're never sorry." 

"Yes, I am, Duo. You were affected the most by it and I was…" Heero trailed off, stopping himself from admitting any more flaws to the American pilot.

"Being a jerk?" Duo was able to rasp, taking deep, gulping breaths of air and leaning against the flimsy metal stall divider. Heero let Duo's braid go and started at Duo's watery violet eyes. 

"Why did you get so upset over it?" Heero asked, a touch of genuine concern actually coming through. Duo was a bit shocked to hear it, and almost thought that he was imagining things. 

"I…" Duo let the word hang in the air for a moment, "My colony was infected with a plague when I was very young…I was lucky that I survived, though I don't know how I did. I was an orphan, and I hung with other homeless people…other orphan kids." He explained in a pained voice, his eyes diverted. He finally allowed himself to look up at Heero, wishing he could just banish the tears in his eyes forever. Duo hardly cried, but when it came to the touchy subject of what happened on his colony, he could never keep his emotions hidden for long, "You may be an assassin, Heero, but you have no idea what it's like to watch your friends falling around you, dying from an incurable plague, when you're standing there perfectly healthy but completely helpless." 

Heero was silent for a long moment, and the only sound around the two pilots was the buzzing of the neon lights above their heads. Finally Heero nodded.

"You're right, I don't." he admitted. Duo buried his face in his hands, willing the mental images away.

"I just felt so sorry for those two kids on that planet. And…" the image that had been presented to them in the briefing room flashed through Duo's mind again, and he remembered the pained look in the girl's faded sapphire eyes.

"And what, Duo?" Heero encouraged his friend to continue.

Duo ran his hands through his wet chestnut bangs and he returned his scared gaze to Heero.

With one heavy sigh, and a prayer in his mind that he was doing the right thing, he looked his friend in his Prussian blue eye and said, "Tell Noin I'll do the mission."


	4. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Duo looked hesitantly over his shoulder as the portal closed behind him, refusing to gaze at the scene that he knew lay before him. Suddenly Duo's face appeared in the screen he was currently looking at to avoid looking at everything else.

"You'll have to look eventually, Duo." He said in a deadpan tone. Duo could tell by the way he was talking that it was a private link between them. Duo sighed deeply and finally turned his head, his jaw dropping at the sight presented before him. The sky was a blood red in color; the land around them was black, charred and lifeless. Here and there little sprouts of trees could be seen, but they were crooked and sparse, barely able to survive in their hostile environment. Before them lay a large city in absolute ruins. Buildings where torn in half, thrown on their sides, and slowly crumbling down in to oblivion. 

"Holy Shinigami…" Duo was finally able to gasp out. Wufei's face appeared on the screen.

He said in a rather cynical tone, "One would think you'd feel right at home here, Maxwell." His slightly appalled expression revealed his true feelings towards the world they had landed on. 

"Yeah…" Duo breathed, "One would think, ne?" He diverted his eyes and typed in a few things on his keyboard console. A few seconds later Captain Willis's report began to play through the speakers of the cockpit. 

"Day One. We arrived in the reality and this place looks like a literal hell on earth.Whatever happened her had to be total and absolute for it to look like this…There's a city up ahead. It looks like its in ruins but it's worth checking for survivors. We're going to set up camp for the night-" 

"Duo what are you doing?" Quatre asked over his intercom.

"Going over this report again. I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything." Duo told his comrades, hitting a few more buttons and bringing up a 3-D map of the city ahead of them, a place called Tokyo-3.

"Duo you've gone over that report five times all ready." Trowa complained rather uncharacteristically. 

"I just want to make sure." Duo repeated, paying more attention to the report than to the other pilots. Once again Duo got the alert for an incoming message from Heero, except this time it came in text over his lower console.

Are you sure you're all right with this, Duo?

Duo sighed deeply as the rest of the report played on behind him.

"…find survivors! Their names are Asuka Langley Soryu and Shinji Ikari…"

I'm fine with this, Heero. I have to do this or else…

"…tell us that this world has suffered what they call a Third Impact. Apparently about fifteen years ago these creatures called 'Angels' came to Earth. The first one was Adam…"

Or else what, Duo?

"…got angry and caused the Second Impact. The polar ice caps melted, the Earth flipped on it's axis, and half the population was killed. After that a project to make General-purpose Humanoid Decisive Combat Weapon - Artificial Human (Android) Evangelion's, or Evangelion's and EVA's for short to fight the Angels…"

Or else I could never live with myself knowing that we just left these two to die here…

"…these two were the pilots of Units Zero One and Zero Two. They said maybe three years ago the Third Impact happened, leaving them the only humans left alive on this planet…"

Understood.

"Let's move out." Heero finally said after what felt like an eternity of radio silence, "We head for Tokyo-3, retrieve the survivors, and get out before those things find us."

"Roger." Trowa said with an understanding nod.

"Right." Wufei echoed.

"Gotcha…" Duo said, his voice less than enthusiastic. The group of five mobile suits began to move towards the ruined city, having no idea of the three EVA units crouching behind the hill waiting for the perfect moment to strike. 

Back in the Tokyo-3 Ruins

"Shinji." Asuka said, looking out the window of a barely stable business building. Shinji just shifted on the ground next to her feet and grumbled something under his breath, pulling the tattered blankets over his face. Asuka glanced down at him with half a mind to kick him awake right then, but went for a little less direct approach, "Shinji you have to see this!" She hissed, shaking him roughly. Shinji groaned and rolled over on his side, covering his eyes with his arm. 

"What is it Asuka?" he grumbled unhappily.   
"Get up you have to see this!" Asuka cried out, actually showing some emotion other than depression. Shinji pulled himself to his feet groggily, rubbing his eyes and walking towards the broken window. When he saw what Asuka was so excited about his brain kicked back in to gear and he found himself gaping at the sight.

Five brightly colored mobile suits, much, much larger then the ones sent before, were tromping towards the city, various weapons in hand. 

"Wha…wha…what in the blazes are those things!" Shinji exclaimed with a tiny squeak of surprise in his voice. 

"I…don't know." Asuka muttered, "They're mobile suits but they're huge! And those weapons…they look like…like robotic Evangelions!"

Shinji swallowed tensely and held the windowsill in a vice like grip.

"Do you think…they're from the reality?" he wondered allowed.

"There's only one way to find out!" Asuka suddenly cried out, running over to where she and Shinji had laid down pallets of blankets for them to sleep on and grabbing her shoes.

"Asuka are you insane! What if they're not one of them?" Shinij whined, wondering what had happened to suddenly bring back Asuka's reckless personality. She quickly slipped on her shoes and was heading for the door. She backtracked when she realized that Shinji wasn't following. 

"Look out the window again." She pointed above the mobile suits this time, to a hill behind them. A flash of white told Shinji all he needed to know.

"EVA's!" He hissed, grabbing Asuka's arm, "Let's go! They need to be warned before it's too late!" 

"That place looks like the City of the Dead…" Quatre mumbled under his breath as the neared the ruined city.

"What's that?" Duo asked curiously, trying to make conversation to momentarily take his mind off the mission.

"It's a place in Egypt. It's a fabled place where the souls of the dead gathered." Trowa explained as though he were giving a history lesson. 

"Didn't pay much attention in Miss Relena's classes did you, Duo?" Quatre asked over the intercoms. Duo could tell the Arab was giving a tiny smirk at the memory of Duo snoozing while Relena lectured on history, pacifism, and other subjects that the Deathscythe pilot could care less about. 

"I don't think I need to answer that question, Quat." Duo replied with a tiny grin of his own. 

"Are you guys seeing this?" Wufei suddenly butted in to the friendly conversation. 

"Seeing what?" Duo wondered. 

"Look in your bottom left screen, you'll see what we're talking about." Heero responded. Duo brought up the screen and was surprised to see the auburn haired girl, Asuka, running towards the mobile suits with the dark haired boy, Shinji leading the way. Both of them were waving frantically at the five pilots and pointing behind them. Duo brought up the external microphone.

"Behind you! Look out behind you!" they were screaming. Before Duo even had a chance to turn around and look over his shoulder at the other monitor something very large and very powerful rammed in to the back of Deathscythe Hell, sending him and the Gundam pitching forward, out of control. Duo screamed as bells went off in his head and the cockpit around him flashed with red lights. He got his senses together before he completely hit the ground, Heero's yelling voice bringing him back to reality. He grabbed the controls and yanked up hard, bringing the Gundam back up to a somewhat standing position. It was then he noticed the added weight to the back of his Gundam and swiveled his head around to a giant white thing grinning at him from the back. His eyes went wide and his jaw opened in closed. His heart pounded against his chest, and for the first time ever Duo Maxwell could admit to feeling actual, paralyzing fear. 

Quatre echoed his thoughts exactly when he cried out, "What in Allah's name is that thing?"

Shinji and Asuka watched in terror as an EVA unit leaped over the hill and clung to one of the mobile suit's back, gripping a piece of it's metal and trying to pry it off. The mobile suit resembled a huge bat-like creature, with huge black wings and a giant green glowing scythe for a weapon. 

"K'so! We're too late!" Shinji cursed angrily, staring haplessly from the ground. 

"You kids get out of here!" A deep, somewhat monotone voice called out from one of the mobile suits, "It's too dangerous to stay!" 

The same mobile suit, one with humongous white metal wings and a giant double barreled gun of some kind, rushed to it's comrade's aid, grabbing the EVA unit from behind and trying desperately to pull it off. 

Shinji grabbed Asuka's arm again and started tugging her along through the sparse forest back to Tokyo-3. Asuka ran with Shinji, looking over her shoulder at the struggling black mobile suit. 

_It's just another group of failed soldiers…_

__

Duo screamed in pain and tried desperately to shield his eyes as sparks flew from the console of his Gundam. That huge white monster was clawing at his Gundam, and he could hear the sound of Gundanium creaking against the strain. Heero was desperately trying to remove the thing, but was having difficulty seeing as the strange creature seemed to have claws or something that had a tight grip around the metal. Several others of the huge things had all ready engaged the other three Gundams, and it was only a matter of time before Heero would be attacked. Duo grabbed the controls despite the pain racking through his entire body and frantically tried to get his Gundam to move before it was too late…

Inside Wing ZERO Heero was pulling back as hard as he possibly could on the controls, straining every muscle in his body. The strange creature, an EVA unit if he recalled correctly, would not let its grip on Deathscythe HELL go. It gnashed at a section of the shoulder plate, baring its gigantic white teeth in to the metal and causing sparks to erupt from the Gundam like a fireworks display. 

"Duo! Duo, are you still there? Answer!" Heero screamed in to his com, wishing he could get more back then just static. 

Suddenly Heero's world went spinning when another EVA unit came out of nowhere and body slammed right in to ZERO. Warning lights flashed around him and he instinctively hit the boosters, making a very close save to him and his Gundam. Just as he looked up though a horrifying sight greeted him.

"DUO!"  
  


A second after Wing ZERO had been knocked away by another EVA unit, Duo felt pain rush up and down his right arm and saw the screens in front of him get engulfed in blackness. He felt Deathscythe tilt forward, then plummet to the ground. He opened his mouth in a silent scream as his entire world came crashing down around him.

Asuka spun around when she saw the second EVA unit come rushing out from the surrounding hills and knock in to the mobile suit with the wings.

_Oh no! _her mind raced when she witnessed the other EVA bite down on the neck of the mobile suit and send it crashing to the ground, dangerously close to where she stood. She covered her eyes with her arms and braced herself for the impact. The Earth shook around her and a dust cloud as tall as the hills themselves was sent in her direction. She was able to stand her ground only for a few seconds as dust, dirt, debris and wind rushed around her. She was thrown backwards by the sheer force of it and landed about ten feet away from where she'd been standing before, flat on her face. Somewhere she heard Shinji scream but she couldn't pinpoint anything through the swirls of dust. 

Asuka lay there on the ground, coughing and sputtering, the sounds of battle still ringing in her ears around her. Finally the dust settled and she could see the fallen mobile suit lying on its side before her. Sparks were flying from several places where the EVA had clawed and bitten, and the whole mid section of it had wires sticking out. Something was banging on what appeared to be a large doorway in the chest of the thing.

"Some one! Guys! Help! The door's stuck from inside!" a voice was calling out. Asuka scrambled to her feet, ignoring the pain surging through her right shoulder, and rushed over to the gigantic robot.

"We're a little busy, Duo!" Some one called from one of the other units that were currently engaged in battle. The banging on the door continued as Asuka approached. 

"What do I have to do?" she called out, reaching out and finding the metal hot to the touch. She pulled her fingers back with a hiss of pain.

"Hu? Is some one out there?" the voice known as Duo called, adding a very ragged cough as he did so. 

"Yes! What do I have to do?" Asuka replied. 

"There's a red handle next to the door. Pull it as hard as you can!" 

Asuka found the red handle with the words 'Emergency Release' written around it. She grabbed a hold of it, ignoring her burning hand, placed her foot up on the unit, and tugged as hard as she could. She cried out in surprise and stumbled backwards as the latch popped out and the door hissed open. She scrambled back to her feet and climbed up to the doorway, leaning in to see a young man with a long brown braid and kind, put pained violet eyes buckled in to a seat.

"Asuka Langley Soryu I presume?" He said with a shaky smile as he clutched his side.

"Yes, that's me." Asuka replied. 

"Duo. Duo Maxwell. We've come to rescue you." He grunted, trying to unbuckle himself with a quavering hand. She gasped when she saw blood trickling over his fingers and reached in, fiddling with the lock and unclasping it. Duo fell sideways in the cockpit with a grunt and some how managed to pull himself to a sitting position. 

That's when he got his first real look at the girl known as Asuka. She was very thin but once upon a time probably had a very good build. She was wearing a tattered blue tank top and very loose fitting blue jeans. Her auburn red hair went down to her hips and was slightly wild and messy. Her blue eyes, though, was what got him the most. There was something so familiar in them, but he couldn't quite place what it was. 

Just then a crackling noise came over Duo's ruined com system.

"…out of here…use the beam Rifle." Heero's broken voice informed the group. Duo's eyes went wide and he grabbed Asuka's shoulder, roughly pushing her out of the cockpit.

"GET DOWN!" He screamed, throwing the two of them to the ground and covering Asuka's head with his body. 

Once again the Earth was rocked as Heero Yuy pulled out his ultimate weapon, the Twin Buster Beam Rifle. He aimed for one EVA unit and pulled the trigger, sending out a huge shock wave when the energy collided with the being, evaporating it in to nothing. The rest of the EVA units quickly scattered to the hills, with missing limbs and ripped torsos. 

Down on the ground Duo struggled to keep he and Asuka on the ground with the force of the shock wave rushing over them. Asuka was covering her head and praying in a language he didn't know, and he was just wishing it get over with. Something slashed through his right shoulder blade and Duo bucked in pain, accidentally letting his guard down and letting Asuka go. The two of them tumbled over the rough ground, propelled by the shockwave. 

Asuka finally skidded to a halt, once again lying on her face, her entire body throbbing. She spat out a mouth full of dust and looked around frantically.

"Duo?" she called out, barely able to see through the swirling dust. She heard some one coughing violently behind her and threw her head around only to see Shinji staggering out of the dust cloud, holding his left arm that was incredibly swollen. 

"Asuka, why'd you go back?" Shinji whined, trying to rub sweat and dirt away from his eyes with his good hand. 

"He needed help…" Asuka said with a groan as she got to her feet, every muscle in her body protesting as she did so. 

"Who?" Shinji asked the girl with an eyebrow raised in curiosity. Asuka ignored him, turning around and looking for something, "Asuka!" Shinji exclaimed when he saw her bleeding shoulder, "Asuka you're bleeding!"

"Duo!" She called out through the slowly settling dust, coughing as her lungs inhaled the debris floating around. Finally she could see a darkly clothed figure lifelessly sprawled out on the ground. Despite the pain in her shoulder she ran over to the body and flipped him over, finding Duo barely breathing. Long gashes on his right shoulder blade and his left side were oozing with blood, and a deep cut on his forehead was dripping red fluid in to his dark hair. The sound of a stomping mobile suit could be heard and she looked up to see the winged one standing above them. It got down on one knee in front of her. The cockpit door whooshed open and out stepped a slender young man with messy dark brown hair and narrowed Prussian blue eyes. 

"Is he all right?" he asked in a emotionless monotone. 

"I don't know." Asuka whimpered, looking from the serious pilot to the boy lying on the ground. 

"Are you two all right?" the pilot asked when Shinji staggered up to Asuka.

"I think my arm is broken but other than that I'm fine." Shinji informed him.

"I…have a cut on my shoulder." Asuka said softly, "Are you really going to rescue us?" 

"Hai. Trowa!" Heero called over his shoulder to another mobile suit. This time a somber blue and gray Gundam made it's way over to them. The cockpit door opened and a man with spiky brown bangs covering one of his emerald green eyes poked his head out, "I need you to take them." Heero said. Trowa nodded and returned to his seat, closing the door and maneuvering his Gundam to get down on one knee in front of Asuka, Shinji, and Duo, setting it's massive hand on the ground next to them. 

"Can you pick him up?" Trowa's voice came over the loud speakers. 

"I can try." Asuka said without much confidence. Pushing any thought of the cut on her shoulder to the back of her mind, she hoisted Duo up by his arms and dragged him on to the huge hand, Shinji following close behind. 

"Lay down on your stomachs. That will make this easier." Trowa told the two of them once Duo was securely in the hand. Asuka and Shinji did as they were told, both flinching from various injuries, and the hand closed protectively around them. The mobile suit pulled upright and turned towards the direction they had come. 

Heero maneuvered Wing ZERO around and tromped over to Deathscythe Hell, lifting the broken Gundam up. 

"All right, Quatre, initiate the portal." Heero ordered. Asuka watched from the other Gundam's hand as a huge swirling mass of color suddenly came to life. Wing ZERO started up its vernier thrusters and disappeared with Deathscythe through the portal. Trowa waited until the rest of the team had gotten through before heading for the portal himself. 

Asuka took one last look behind her at the ruins of Tokyo-3 and sighed deeply.

_We're saved…_

_ _

_ _


	5. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Heero and Trowa watched through the mirrored window as the interrogation of Shinji and Asuka dragged on in to the early hours of the morning. 

"How much longer are they going to keep torturing those poor kids…?" Trowa muttered, shaking his head in distaste. 

"They have to make sure that all the facts are straight." Heero stated, his voice dull.

"Look at them, Heero." Trowa said, gesturing towards the viewing window, "They're miserable…they just want some rest and a chance to recuperate."

The two survivors did indeed look awful. Shinji had his arm plastered and in a sling around his neck. Asuka's shoulder blade was wrapped in gaze and tape, and her wrist was also wrapped in an ace bandage from a sprain she'd received attempting to pick up Duo. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying over the fact that Duo had been injured on her account, trying to remember what exactly happened during the third impact, and various other things that were plaguing her young mind. Shinji looked as though he were about ready to fall asleep right there, not to mention the pain killers for his arm had long since worn off. 

Heero frowned deeply and grabbed a microphone that had been placed on the table in front of them.

"I think they've had enough, Miss Noin." He informed the room, causing Asuka and Shinji to jump and look around. Asuka spotted the mirror on the left side of the wall and narrowed her eyes.

"A two way mirror…" she muttered, looking back at Noin with contempt, "Can we go now?" 

Noin sighed deeply and ran her hands through her dark hair.

"Yeah…" she muttered, "Yeah I guess you can." 

"Thank you very much." Shinji said politely, standing up and pushing his chair in. He helped Asuka to her feet and walked with the girl out of the room. 

Heero watched them leave and looked to Trowa, saying, "This better have been worth it…" before walking out the viewing room himself. Trowa shook his head again.

"When will you ever start being human, Heero?" 

In the infirmary waiting room

Heero, being the natural insomniac that he was, remained awake long after everyone else had retired to his or her respective places. He wandered down the halls of the infirmary, which was pretty much empty except for the presence of the still unconscious Duo. A tiny square of light reflected on the tile floor ahead. Heero's expertly trained ears soon picked up the sound of muffled crying coming from the area.

_Hn…I thought I was the only one awake at this hour. _He pondered as he quietly walked forward. He silently slipped in to the shadows of the area outside Duo's room, only to find Asuka sitting on the bench, her face in her hands. Instead of interrupting her quiet time he ducked in to the shadows around the room and watched the girl silently from the sidelines. 

Asuka ran her hands through her shoulder length auburn hair and looked in to the darkened room across from her. The dim light from the outside showed that her eyes were red and puffy. 

"I should have done more…I just got in the way…I'm no better than Shinji." She said with thick sorrow in her voice. A silent tear fell down her gaunt cheeks, and she swallowed down another sob, "You didn't have to save me, Duo…"

"But he chose to." Heero finally spoke up, causing Asuka to jump and squeal a little. Heero removed himself from his hiding place, and Asuka instantly relaxed.

"I didn't know anyone else was up…" she muttered, looking down at her feet. 

"Neither did I. I'm normally up at this time." Heero confessed, standing over the girl who refused to meet his gaze. 

A tiny bit of red crept in to her cheeks when she asked Heero, "You heard what I said, didn't you?"

Heero paused for a moment, and then finally answered, "Hai." 

"Why….why did he do that?" 

"Do what?"

"Risk his life for me? He pushed me out of the way of the shockwave and held me down so I wouldn't get hurt…The guy doesn't even know me, and he put his life on the line for me." 

Heero sucked in a deep breath and took a seat next to Asuka. 

"Duo…feels a connection to you two. He'll slit my throat if he ever finds out I told you this but…" Heero looked across the hall in to the room where Duo, hooked up to a million tubes, cords, and wires, lay still unconscious and in critical condition. When they had returned from the reality Duo had lost so much blood that he had to have an immediate transfusion, and his wounds were all ready starting to get infected from how much time he'd spent rolling around in dirt and dust. 

"Duo is an orphan. He has been since before he can remember. When he was living on L2, he was running with a group of orphans and his entire colony got infected with a plague and it wiped them all out. Duo's been abandoned again and again in his life, and when he heard about you two being the only survivors…"

"I see…" Asuka said when Heero trailed off, unsure as to how to finish that sentence. Asuka raised her head, looking to Heero with watery blue eyes, "He's either the bravest and kindest guy I've ever met, or the stupidest…" 

A few rooms down the hall…

Shinji listened to the conversation down the hallway in silent musing. He was lying on an uncomfortable hospital bed, the only place in the Preventers HQ that he and Asuka could stay for the time being. Asuka had left the other bed about an hour before, complaining of a leg cramp that needed to be walked off, and had spent the time sitting in the waiting room outside Duo's hospital room. 

When Shinji had heard Heero's voice it both surprised him and comforted him at the same time. He had been debating for about a half an hour whether or not he should have gone out there and talked to Asuka, but he knew it would just earn him a whole lot of yelling and violent cursing in German. Asuka, even in a time when she needed a human companion, refused moral support from Shinji. It had been that way since they'd met, and Shinji felt it would be that way 'til the two of them went their separate ways.

_She was one tough bitch when I met her…full of pride and arrogance. She was sure that she could save the world from the Angels and become famous. Then the Third Impact happened and we were left on that planet to die alone and scared. And for the first time in Asuka's life I think she lost confidence in herself…her emotions became even harder to find and her heart was like a thin glass plate, ready to shatter at a moment's notice. Now this whole thing with Duo has made her even more vulnerable. She's never had anyone risk their life for her, and Duo did just that. She doesn't know what to think or how to take it…_

__"He's either the bravest and kindest guy I've ever met, or the stupidest…"Asuka said outside to Heero, her voice choked with obvious tears. 

"Normally I'd call him pretty damn stupid…but this time I think he was actually being pretty brave." Was Heero's rather monotone response. 

"I wish he hadn't." Asuka muttered so quietly Shinji barely heard the girl.

"Why? You're alive now. Isn't that what matters?" Heero wondered. 

"Sometimes I wonder why the two of us are even still alive, Heero…"

Shinji sighed deeply upon hearing those heart felt words.

_So do I Asuka…so do I…_

_ _

About three days later

His mind was swimming in a black abyss. His body felt weightless and heavy at the same time. Warning lights were flashing all over the place, and he couldn't make heads or tails of what was happening to him. 

_Am I dead? _

__Was Duo Maxwell's first conscious thought. 

"He's starting to come around." A distance voice said from somewhere in the darkness. It was a familiar voice, a strange comfort to the boy whose mind was spinning in darkness. 

"Duo!" Another voice screamed at him. This one was distinctively female, very excited and worried. 

"Shh! Don't yell! He's probably got a headache the size of and EVA unit." A calm male voice of reason interrupted. 

"Anta baka? He's on morphine!" the female snapped.

"I am not stupid! Stop saying that, Asuka!" 

_Asuka? Asuka Langley Soryu…I'm not dead…I remember now. The battle with the EVAs, saving that girl…Asuka…_

__Duo slowly willed his eyes to open and was instantly blinded by a bright white ceiling.

"Ow…some one turn the neon glow down…" he muttered, throwing his rather sore arm over his eyes. All at once the pain came crashing down on top of him. It was like every single nerve ending in his body was on fire. 

"DUO!" Asuka shrieked out, wrapping her arms around his neck happily. Duo let out a rather loud protest and Asuka instantly backed off.

"Gomen nasai!" Asuka exclaimed loudly, her eyes wide and her face suddenly pale. 

"It's fine, Asuka…I'm just in so much pain right now…" he muttered tiredly, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. 

"See…" the boy, Shinji, snapped at Asuka. Asuka in turn pulled down her left eyelid and stuck his tongue out at him. Duo took his first moment to look around the sterile white hospital room and was rather surprised to see all the pilots, Noin, Sally, Asuka and Shinji all standing around him. Quatre, Sally, Noin, and Asuka looked incredibly relieved. Heero looked expressionless as usual. Shinji looked rather unsure of himself. Trowa and Wufei appeared to be rather indifferent in the situation. 

_At least they showed up to show their support, Duo. Can't be too choosy when it comes to these guys…_

__"I'll go get another morphine drip for you, Duo." Sally said, "I'm glad to see that you're awake, though." 

"I wish I wasn't…" Duo muttered, grasping his tightly bandaged but still throbbing side as Sally walked out the door, closely followed by Noin.

"Glad to see you're okay, Duo." Heero said in his usual unenthusiastic tone.

"Thanks, Heero." Duo responded, adding something in under his breath. Heero pretended not to notice and left the room, Trowa and Wufei leaving with him. Quatre grimaced a little and gave Duo an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about them, Duo. Things have been a little tense, you know." He told the boy lying on the hospital bed. Duo shrugged as much as the pain in his shoulders would allow him to. 

"Yeah I know."

"Um…Quatre, Shinji." Asuka started very softly, "Can I talk to Duo alone for a few minutes?" 

Quatre gave an interested look to Shinji, who in turn gestured for the door with his head. 

"Sure, Asuka. Just don't be too long. Duo needs some rest." Quatre agreed, heading out the door with Shinji. Asuka grabbed a seat and sat down beside the bed, refusing to meet Duo's curious violet-eyed gaze. 

"I…never got a chance to thank you, Duo." She confessed softly. 

"For what?" 

"For…saving me like you did. No one has ever done something like that for me." Asuka admitted, twiddling her fingers around and barely glancing at him through her messy auburn bangs. Duo gave a sweet smile to the girl, honestly flattered that the girl was thanking him for saving her life.

"Do you have any place to stay?" he asked her. Asuka shook her head. 

"Quatre offered to take Shinji for a while but he said that was really all he could do for now. Something about him still being a minor."

"That's right…" Duo muttered in thought, "Shinji would just be living there. Come the start of the school year we'd have to find some one to give you guys over to…" 

_Wait a second, Duo! You're eighteen! You're a legal adult, plus your place is in the district of one of the best schools in the state! Stop being an idiot and tell her!_

__"My place is kinda small, but would you and Shinji mind staying with me? I'm eighteen now and can be a legal guardian." 

Asuka's head shot up and she smiled brightly.

"Really?! You would do that for us?!" Asuka nearly shrieked. Duo grinned even wider.

"Why not? It gets a little lonely around my place, and besides, if you're gonna be stranded in this God-forsaken reality might as well be with some one who will show you a good time!" 

Asuka actually felt her self laughing, and realized that maybe being in this reality wasn't going to be so bad after all. 

_But that's only providing that we're safe…_

__


	6. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

On a semi-busy street, in a small town located in a large but rather low populated state, Duo Maxwell resided in a large four bedroom loft he had bought with his own money after the wars had ended. Most of the time the eighteen-year-old pilot spent his days there alone, going to work at a small computer repair business for most of the day, stopping in at the Preventer HQ if he was needed, and then returning home to the empty loft. He'd never really considered living with another person, even though Quatre insisted several times that the Dethscythe pilot should give up his rather lonely life style and come live in the Winner mansion. Duo told Quatre that he really did prefer to live alone, seeing as that's how he'd spent most of his life. Of course once he'd said those words he's made the self-realization that he wasn't truly happy that way, it was just a normal feeling and it kept him somewhat sane. As much as Duo loved action and adventure, any kind of major changes to his life shook the foundations and made him feel uneasy.

Which was exactly how he was feeling when he opened the door to his loft and ushered Asuka and Shinji inside. 

"Um…you'll have to excuse the mess. Things have been a little hectic lately." Duo said apologetically as he closed the door behind him.

"Duo, you've been apologizing for this, that, and everything else the entire drive over here." Shinji said over his shoulder as Asuka admired the place, "It's no big deal, really." 

"Have I?" Duo let out a short, embarrassed laugh and he felt his cheeks burning. He absentmindedly scratched the back of his head, "Gomen…er…I mean I'll stop now. I didn't realize I was doing that so much. I'll show you up to your rooms." He added, quickly shuffling off to the spiral staircase that lead up to the upper floor and the four large bedrooms. Asuka and Shinji followed close behind, Asuka admiring the rather large place. The bottom contained a huge living room with a plush white round couch and a big screen TV complete with stereo system and speakers a large kitchen with new appliances, and a small recreation area with a pool table, small radio, and dart board. 

"You live here alone, Duo?" Asuka asked as she climbed the stairs. Duo nodded ahead of them.

"I had enough money after the wars to buy a place like this, and I figured 'why not? I've been to hell and back, I deserve a great bachelor pad!'" the braided pilot boasted, even though he was turning rather red at the thought of using the words 'bachelor pad' around Asuka. Duo stopped at the top of the hall.

"Okay, this room and this room." He said, gesturing to the very top door and another next to it, "are my rooms. This one's my bedroom; the other one's my office. It's got a computer and a few other things in there. Feel free to use them. Oh, now that I think about it, the school in the area requires like half your homework to be typed, so as soon as I get the chance I'll get you two some laptops and some portable printers. Until then you two are gonna have to fight over the one in there." Duo joked with a huge grin, trying to rid himself of his uncomfortable feeling. 

"So…what about our rooms?" Shinji asked.

"What? Oh! Right, sor…um…right." Duo blushed again, feeling himself stumble over words that were usually so normal for him to say. He felt in such an awkward position at that moment, and silently wondered why he had agreed to take the two survivors in. 

_Duh Maxwell…you couldn't stand the way Asuka looked so lost and lonely…you know they're pain so well that…that…_

__Duo nearly cursed out loud right there. Even his own mind was getting confused. 

_Just get back to telling them about their rooms, baka!_

__"Um…you two will have to choose your own rooms, but it's basically this one," Duo explained, gesturing to a sparsely furnished room next to the office, "and this one," he moved his arm to point at the end of the hall, where another small room was, "They're about the same size, and don't have that much except for a bed and a dresser, but I promise I'll get more things for you guys when I get paid again." 

Shinji walked to the room closest to where he was standing, which happened the one next to the office. He poked his head in and looked around for a moment. 

"Did you want this one, Asuka?" he asked.

"I really don't care…but which one has the better view?" Asuka pondered. Duo smiled at her words.

"A girl after my own heart. The one at the end of the hall way." Asuka wandered down there, peered in, and looked back out with a tiny smirk.

"I'll take it." 

Just as she said it the phone rang shrilly downstairs and Duo rolled his violet eyes.

"Never a moment's peace…" he grumbled, taking off down the stairs and grabbing the phone on the fourth ring.

"Do you think we're doing the right thing?" Shinji suddenly asked Asuka.

"Why do you think we're not?" Asuka retorted, folding her arms over her chest and eyeing Shinji.

"I feel like we're imposing…" Shinji said rather dejectedly, putting his arms behind his back and refusing to meet Asuka's prying eyes.

"He offered, Shinji. Would you rather be back in Tokyo-3?" 

"No…"

"Shinji…" Asuka sighed, walking up to her friend and putting her hand on his shoulder, "This is all we have now. These pilots…they're doing what they can for us. We should take what we can get and not complain." 

Shinji looked up at the auburn haired girl with slight surprise.

"Strange words coming from you, Asuka." He stated, even though his voice was no more malicious than his stance.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Asuka snapped, jerking her hand back as though Shinji were some kind of plague. Before Shinji had a chance to redeem himself Duo came jogging back up the stairs.

"I'm sorry guys but they need me back down at the HQ. I really wish I could stay and show you around some more but Noin insisted they needed me. There should be some frozen pizzas in the freezer and some other food in the fridge. It's not much, but I'm broke until next payday. Will you guys be okay here alone?" he explained, looking a little irked at the sudden call back.

"Oh we'll be fine. Go do your job, Duo." Asuka smiled, waving her hand like it was no big deal. 

"Really? Thanks for understanding. I should be back around one! Ja!" Duo called as he ran back down the stairs, grabbing his jacket off the couch and running out the door. Asuka's smile faded instantly once the door was closed.

"Well this sucks…our first night here and we're stuck alone…" she complained.

"He can't help it, Asuka. Besides, we should be used to being alone." Shinji assured the girl as he made his way down to the kitchen. 

"Yeah…but who's saying I wanted to be alone again…"

Around 1 a.m.

Duo sighed deeply as he looked at the still healing wound on his shoulder. 

"Another scar for the collection, hey Maxwell?" he asked to the silent, darkened room behind him and the quiet night out in front of him. He stood on the balcony of his room, scanning over the many scars that riddled his body. No one knew of the hundreds of scars that marked Duo Maxwell's body, and Duo had all ready made the choice that no one was ever going to know. Each tiny mark, each little section of reddened flesh spelled out a lifetime of horrible pain that none of the other pilots could begin to understand. 

_I'm nothing but a street rat…a kid whose lived by his wits alone. No wonder I relate to Shinji and Asuka so much…they're just like me…_

__Behind Duo the floorboards suddenly creaked, the obvious sound of pressure being applied. Duo grabbed the nearest weapon, which happened to be a simple steel pipe he'd left out there from trying to fix some outside plumbing.

"Who's there?" he demanded in a no-nonsense tone as he looked over his shoulder.

"Gomen…" a soft female voice replied. Duo spun on his heel, rather surprised to see Asuka standing there in nothing more than a large t-shirt and her underwear. She had Duo's small pistol that he kept in the office in her hand and was obviously shaken. 

"Asuka?" he nearly squeaked out in surprise.

"I…just wanted to make sure that was you who came in." she explained quietly, "Shinji didn't lock the door."

"I noticed…" Duo grumbled, mentally reminding himself to scold Shinji in the morning for such a foolish move. 

"Your shoulder…it still hasn't healed?" Asuka pointed to Duo's bare shoulder. Duo jumped and quickly pulled up the collar of his blue button-down and re-buttoned the shirt with fumbling fingers.

"Yeah, it's still pretty messed up." He said in an angry tone.

"Is something wrong?" Asuka asked, placing the pistol on Duo's dresser.

"Nothing's wrong…" 

"Then why did you pull your shirt up so fast?" Asuka demanded, completely catching Duo off guard. He looked up with wide violet eyes that were strangely reflected from the streetlights outside. 

"I…just didn't want to remind you of what happened, that's all." He responded rather slowly, using the only excuse he really had.

"Oh…" Asuka sighed, not entirely convinced, "You're not going to be running off every night, are you?" she asked out of the blue, once again throwing Duo off. 

"N-no. Of course not." He tripped over his words; "They just needed tech support tonight. The main computer was malfunctioning. Are…you sure you were all right here tonight?" Duo asked the girl, taking a few steps forward and reaching his hand out to her. 

Asuka refused to meet his gaze as she replied, "We were fine."

"What about you?"

"I…" Asuka trailed off as she finally raised her watery blue eyes to Duo. She blinked quickly and shook her head as though to tell herself that crying was wrong, "I was fine. I'm going back to bed."

"But-"

"Goodnight, Duo." She cut him off, turning curtly on her heel and walking out the door. She stopped at the doorframe and glanced over her shoulder, adding, "And thank you." before rushing in to her room and closing the door. 

Duo's arm fell limply at his side and he let out a tremendous sigh, still staring at Asuka's closed door.

"Asuka…"


	7. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"I can't believe that you're doing this, Quatre." Duo mumbled for what had to have been the millionth time that day as he, Quatre, Shinji, and Asuka walked around the local mall.

"What's not to believe, Duo?" Quatre retorted in a rather exasperated tone.

"You! You're too damn generous for your own good, kid…" Duo sighed, folding his arms behind his head and looking up at the ceiling, "You act like money grows on trees."

"Just because I don't work like you do for your income doesn't mean that I think money grows on trees." 

"He's just trying to be nice, right, Quatre?" Shinji suddenly defended, earning a rather cold look from Duo.

"That's right, Shinji. I'm being nice, something you should do more often, Duo." Quatre scolded with a playful grin. Duo deflated instantly, his arms falling at his sides and his mouth agape as the other three walked on ahead of him.

"I am too nice!" he was finally able to sputter out, running to catch up with them. Asuka giggled at the rather hurt look on Duo's face.

"Sure…the man who calls him self Shinigami actually believes that he can be 'nice'." She ridiculed.

"Asuka!" 

Later…

"My credit card is screaming…" Quatre moaned as he threw his head back on the seat and eyed the bags lying around him, Duo, and Shinji. Somewhere in the jungle of racks and clothes Asuka was indulging herself in the latest fashions. The majority of what was in those bags Asuka now had claim to, despite the fact that either Quatre or Duo had forked over the money to pay for it. All though Shinji had bought a whole new wardrobe himself, Asuka beat him out by buying at least five. There were other things, too, like school supplies, things for their rooms, and other accessories. 

"YOUR credit card is screaming?!" Duo shot back, eyeing his now empty wallet, "Dude…I swear I just saw a moth…" he added, peering in closer and causing Shinji to chuckle.

"I warned you guys what would happen if we took Asuka with us." He said in a very 'I-told-you-so-but-no-one-ever-listens-to-me' voice. 

"Ah shadup…" Duo grumbled, closing his wallet and puffing at his bangs tiredly. 

"I wasn't even going to attempt to buy clothes for some one with a figure like that." Quatre mentioned, hiding his face with his hand to hide his reddening cheeks.

"Quatre!" Duo exclaimed with a tiny smirk, "That's the most blunt thing I've ever heard you say!" 

"Quiet, Duo…it's the truth!" the blonde Arab whined, still refusing to remove his hand. Shinji chuckled again and rolled his blue eyes. 

"Oh boys!" Asuka suddenly called in a singsong voice from near the dressing rooms. Asuka poked her head out as all the boys moaned and looked in her direction. 

"What is it, Asuka?" Duo demanded. Asuka grinned wide and pulled out a very, very skimpy black mini skirt.

"How 'bout this?" she chirped cheerfully. Three collective jaws dropped, and three pairs of eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. 

"A…As…As…" Quatre stammered, his cheeks beginning to resemble a tomato.

"Asuka!" Duo nearly shrieked, jumping out of his chair. Asuka blinked rapidly, a confused expression suddenly adorning her face.

"What?" she asked innocently. Duo sighed and walked over to the girl, despite the fact that he mentally admitted that her confused look was incredibly cute.

"Hold it up to your body." He ordered. Her face still showing absolute confusion, Asuka did as she was told, holding the skirt where she'd have it had she put it on, "Now hold your arm down at your side." Once again, Asuka did as she was told. Just as Duo suspected, the tips of her fingers went far past the end of the skirt. Duo scoffed, folded his arms over his chest, and leaned forward until their noses were nearly touching and said in a firm voice, "No way," and started walking back to the other two boys. '

"W…what?!" Asuka shrieked, "Why?" 

"Because it's too short." Duo replied in his best fatherly tone as he continued to walk away. 

"No it's not!" Asuka protested again, causing Duo to stop and turn around. Just then Quatre's cell phone rang and Quatre scrambled to pick the thing up.

"The tips of your fingers go at least and inch past the end of that skirt. It's too short!" 

As the arguing over whether or not the skirt was indeed too short, Quatre argued with Sally Po on the other line of his cell phone. When Sally finally hung up on the boy, Quatre stared at the phone until Shinji snapped him out of his trance. He looked up at Duo and Asuka, who were still arguing rather vehemently. 

"Duo." Quatre said, never being heard, "Duo!" he snapped this time, still not being audible over the loud yelling, "DUO!" Quatre suddenly screamed, getting everyone in the shop, including Duo and Asuka to stop what he or she was doing and stare in amazement at the normally soft spoken Winner. 

"Sorry…" Quatre mumbled, scratching the back of his head and getting up to talk to Duo. 

"What is it, Quat?" Duo asked, suddenly worried.

"That was Sally. We need to get down to the HQ right now." Quatre informed him in a low voice, putting extra emphasis on the words 'right now'. 

"What?" Duo hissed, "Why?"

Quatre looked at Duo, fear flooding his kind aquamarine eyes, and said in a frightened tone, "They're going back…"

At the Preventers Headquarters'

Duo slammed through the swinging double doors, an incredibly pissed off look on his face. Asuka and Shinji struggled to keep up with Duo's racing pace. The Deathscythe pilot didn't easily loose his calm, cool, laughing exterior, but what the Preventers were planning on doing was unacceptable and this time Duo was allowing him self to show his actual emotions. 

"Duo it's not that bad!" Shinji tried to reason.

"We almost got killed out there last time, Shinji. They're smokin' something if they think they're gonna send us back out there." Duo growled, marching right up to Lady Une's office, despite the officials around him yelling for him to stop, and slammed the door open with all his strength, nearly knocking the thing right off it's hinges. Lady Une yelped and jumped out of her chair.

"Maxwell!" she cried out when she realized whom she was dealing with, "What in God's name do you think you're doing?"

"I'd like to ask you the same God Damn question, Une." Duo spat. Lady Une gasped at his vulgarity.

"Well I never-"

"Are you completely loony, Une?! Why the hell are you sending us back to that God forsaken reality?! Are you trying to get us killed?!" Duo yelled before the Preventer chief even had a chance to breathe.

"Oh…so that's what this is all about." Lady Une said in a much calmer tone, brushing her dress off as though Duo's presence in the room was contaminating it.

"That is exactly what this is all about." Duo seethed, "And I demand to know what the fuck is going on in that pretty little brown head of yours."

Lady Une pretended not to notice Duo's rather colorful choice of words and evenly explained, "We have gone over the survivors records and we have reason to believe that the EVA Unit-01 is still orbiting in space."

"So you're gonna risk our necks to go and get something that you're not even sure is there?!" Duo howled in frustration, "I can't believe you people! We're just some kind of…of…expendable asset to you aren't we?"

"I don't see why you believe there is any danger." Duo's eyes flamed in anger as he walked closer to her desk and pulled down the collar of his blue t-shirt, revealing a nicely sized red scar there. Asuka gasped and Shinji moaned, both making sound for the first time since they'd arrived in Lady Une's office."_This _is why I believe there's danger, Une. Open your eyes, woman! We almost got ourselves killed out there last time! ONE of those damn mass EVA's took Deathscythe down!"

"But you made it out alive last time, and that's more than the other teams we sent can say." Lady Une resounded in a very bored tone.

"Don't you get it! We _barely _survived last time! Those things are _dangerous_. They are worse than any number of Gundams, Mobile suits, and battle ships combined! And you're willing to sacrifice our lives in order to retrieve something that…you don't even know how to run!" Duo argued, knowing good and well his point was not getting across. He narrowed his eyes at Lady Une and growled under his breath, "Just what exactly is it that the RRCO* does anyway?"

"It's simple. Search out other realities, decide if they are a threat or an asset, and acquire any new technology that could be of use to us." Lady Une explained as though it were easy arithmetic. 

"And for that stupid reason you're going to put our lives on the line?!" Duo yelled, "You are so full of shit, Une…" he spun on his heel and headed out the door, "Come on Shinji, Asuka, we're going home." 

Asuka quickly dashed after the angry pilot, but Shinji lagged behind, glancing nervously at Lady Une before rushing after the other two, just barely seeing the woman press a button on her desk.

"Hold it, Mr. Maxwell." Lady Une's voice came from behind them. Duo, despite everything that told him to turn around, did. He was surprised to see two very large guards standing at her sides. 

"What the hell is it now, Une?" he snapped, trying to his shock. The two guards moved forward, one grabbing Shinji and the other grabbing Asuka, who instantly begin to protest. 

"You may not be willing to cooperate with us on this mission, but it's going through with or without you." Une told him with a rather sadistic smile. 

"What? What are you doing with them?!" Duo demanded angrily.

"We need them." Was Une's clipped response.

"I am their legal guardian! You can't take them without my consent!" Duo bellowed.

"DUO! Don't let them take us!" Asuka pleaded, trying to fight against the guard's strong hold.

"They may be under your care, but they are products of a mission conducted here on this base. They are our property." 

"Property my ASS! They're just kids!" Duo screamed. His argument fell on deaf ears as Une turned on her heel and begin to walk way. 

"As are you, Duo Maxwell." 

Duo suddenly felt something incredible come over him. It was like all of his pent up anger and hidden emotions just came out in a giant adrenaline rush and he felt like he could do anything.

"UNE!" he hollered in a war cry like voice. His voice echoed off the walls and the ceiling and the floor. The lights flickered over head as though they were possessed. Une, the two guards, Shinji and Asuka all turned warily around only to see Duo, shadowed by some un-seen light, standing there looking like a demon. 

"Oh My God…" Lady Une muttered in awe. Without any warning a sudden wind blew through the hallway, sending papers and hair flying all over the place.

"Let…them…go…" Duo growled, his voice sounding completely inhuman. The lights flickered again and Asuka swore she saw the outline of wings behind the braided boy.

As quickly as it had come, the rush left Duo's body. His knees quaked underneath him and the world started to spin. 

"Duo!" Asuka screamed out, seeing him weaken as the place returned back to normal. She didn't even have to put up a fight to get away from the guard, seeing as he was just standing there, completely dumbfounded. Asuka rushed forward, and Duo hit his knees on the floor, holding his throbbing head in his hands.

"Asuka, don't! You don't know what he is!" Shinji begged the girl, knowing good and well she wasn't going to listen to him.

Asuka grabbed Duo's shoulders and struggled to hold his listless body up.

"Duo! Duo say something!" she pleaded, gently shaking him. He groaned and looked at her with glazed over eyes.

"Sorry…Asuka…" he was able to rasp before falling lifelessly in her arms. 

"DUO!" Asuka screamed, tears filling her eyes. 

"Get a medic down here, NOW!" Une ordered the guards. They took off down the hallway, both calling in to the radios attached to their shirts. Une then rushed over to Duo and Asuka, quickly checking for a pulse and breath. 

"He's breathing, but his heart beat is erratic. He needs medical attention and I mean now." She informed the shaking Asuka. Shinji walked over and was some how able to pry Asuka away from Duo's limp body. 

Asuka broke down right there, burying her face in her hands and sobbing. Shinji wrapped his arms around the girl and pulled her close, and for once Asuka actually allowed him to do this move. 

Lady Une brushed Duo's brown spiky bangs away from his closed eyes and stared at the pale face before her.

_Duo Maxwell…I always thought your kind was dead…_

_ _

_ _

*RROC – Reality Research Control Operations 

An organization within Preventers that Lady Une heads up. It's similar to the SCG (Stargate Command) in the show Stargate SG-1

A/N: IIEEK!! I'm evil! Actually I'm not trying to be evil right now, I just have to be going some where in about five minutes…

Anyway, I wanted to give a little shout out to Elf, cause she's the only one who's reviewed this story so far!! 

Hey Elf, advertise this story to some of your friends or something! PLEASE! I want some more reviews! You're the only person who's even said this story is any good! But…well I'm glad you do think this story is good cause honestly I think you are a writer among writers! Not only do you come up with some sweet ideas, A Shade Darker kicked copious amounts of ass, as my boyfriend would say. So, anywayz, I really must go now. Sorry to leave this hanging like this, but DOH! I gotta go! *giggles* That rhymes…YES! I am in an incredibly weird mood today. I'll try to get more soon, promise!!!

Oh, a little credit is due to my boyfriend who came up with the whole 'my wallet/credit card is screaming' bit last night when he took me out to dinner. *giggles* Az, you rock!!


	8. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_Swirling masses of dark clouds covered Duo's field of vision. It was hard to tell if he was standing or floating, seeing as his feet were covered with thick fog. Around him were twisted, deformed trees that had the appearance of withered old men that wanted nothing more than to be put out of their own misery. Strange echoing voices rung in his ears, moaning in languages unknown to the young pilot. _

_"What's going on?" Duo called out to the darkness, letting his voice show more fear than he wanted. _

_"Come back to us, Duo…" a voice whispered in his ear, sending chills up his spine. He spun around, his braid trailing out behind him. There, before him, shadowed by the lack of light, was a feminine figure with huge, feathered black wings stretched out behind her. Her arms were reaching for Duo, and the young man suddenly felt his heart skip a beat._

_"Who are you?" he demanded with a shaky voice. _

_"Duo…" the female moaned, moving closer. Trepidation took over Duo's heart; he knew something wasn't right here. _

_"Please…stay back!" he begged, trying to back away. He soon realized that the woman wasn't shadowed from the lack of light, but because she had no form._

_"Duo…come back to us…" she continued to wail, her voice rising in volume. _

_"Stay back!!" Duo screamed, slamming in to a tree and finding himself trapped. The woman grabbed his shoulders with dark, bony hands and leaned her formless face forward. _

_When he saw what lay beyond the dark shadow that was her body, a scream that ripped through the dead land escaped Duo's lips._

__

__"DUO!" Asuka yelled, shaking the screaming boy thrashing about on the hospital bed, "DUO! Wake up it's just a bad dream! DUO!" she frantically cried. Duo was drenched in sweat, his eyes tightly squeezed closed, and his hands clasped so tightly around the sheets that his knuckles were turning white.

Asuka saw no other choice and raised her hand in the air, bringing it down harshly on Duo's cheek. Duo screamed again and shot bolt up right, his violet eyes darting wildly around. 

"A…Asuka?" he stammered when he saw the frightened blue-eyed EVA pilot at his side.

"You were having a bad dream." She stated calmly, despite the fear in her eyes.

"Am I…in the infirmary?" Duo wondered, gazing at the unfamiliar surroundings.

"Hai. You are." 

Duo rubbed his sore cheek and a tiny grin played across his gamine features.

"You slapped me…"

"It was the only way to wake you up." Asuka explained, hanging her head as though she took no pride whatsoever in her actions, "Duo…"

"Yeah?" 

"What…happened back there?" Asuka inquired, tilting her head and looking curiously at Duo.

"Back where? In the hallway? I…" Duo trailed off, his eyes suddenly becoming glazed, "don't know, Asuka…I really don't know." 

There was a very long and uncomfortable silence between the two before Duo took the chance to speak again. 

"How long have I been out?" he mused, staring at the clock and trying to regain some memories. The haunting image of the strange angel in the mist plagued his mind, however, and blocked any access to previous incidents. 

"About two hours."

"Two hours!" Duo exclaimed, trying to jump out of the hospital bed.

"No way, you're not going anywhere, Duo!" Asuka ordered, pushing him back down. Normally Duo would have easily been able to over power the girl, but the incident in the hall had just sapped any energy he had. 

"You gotta let me! They've started the mission! They can't go on without me!" Duo protested in a very uncharacteristic whine. 

"Yes they're on the mission but you're stuck here! There is no way Miss Une is going to let you pilot in your condition!" Asuka argued, still holding his shoulder down on the bed.

"But…" Duo continued to protest.

"But nothing, Duo…there's nothing you can do now…"

In the Reality Portal Control Booth

Shinji stared at the flickering monitors before him, monitors that were watching the current vital signs of the four Gundam pilots that were in his reality. 

He sighed, seeing nothing unchanged, nothing unusual in the status screen. The normalcy did nothing to easy Shinji's trepidation. He glanced up at the portal doorway that lay in the huge Reality Portal and Docking Room. Surrounding the giant gateway were several docked mobile suits, including the stationed Deathscythe Hell, the Gundam belonging to Shinji's guardian. 

His heart leapt to his throat when he saw that particular Gundam, even though he all ready knew that Duo was in the infirmary, probably still unconscious from his strange episode in the hall. 

"Something's not right…"

Back in the EVA reality…

Somewhere in orbit around Earth…

Heero stared in undeniable awe at the monstrosity before him. As large as a Gundam, but with much more menacing, and eerily human-like features, Evangelion Unit-01 floated lifeless in the infinite space. 

"What is that thing…?" Heero asked the emptiness around him. 

"Did you find the EVA unit, Heero?" Quatre's voice came over his com system. The other three pilots were monitoring Heero's part of the mission from Earth, making sure there were no complications when he returned with the EVA unit. 

"Yeah…I found it. It took some looking, thought." Heero responded, slight nervousness entering his usual monotone.

"Well, get it and let's get out of here." Wufei suddenly snapped. 

"Wufei…" Quatre protested softly.

"You're acting more paranoid than usual, Chang." Trowa added, "Is something bothering you?" 

"I have a bad feeling…all right?" Wufei growled, suddenly becoming very uneasy. 

"Yeah…so do I." Heero agreed quietly, staring at the EVA unit, "All right, I'm going to retrieve it. I'll contact you when I've got it hooked to the trailer. This is Heero, over and out."

"Wufei, over and out."

"Quatre, over and out." 

"We'll be waiting. Trowa, over and out." 

Heero sighed and turned off the button to his com link, his other hand hesitating over the release hatch for his door. It was bad enough that he was completely alone; he was going to venture outside his place of sanctity, his Gundam, in order to hook up the cables that would reel in the EVA unit. 

_If anything attacks me, I'm dead…I really wish we could have taken more than one Gundam up to retrieve this thing…why did Une suddenly change her mind about sending me with back up? It's like something spooked her…_

__He growled under his breath and grabbed the hatch roughly.

_Stop doubting yourself, Yuy. You're trained for this kind of stuff! Just go out there and do it!_

__Finally, after a long mental argument with himself, Heero pulled the hatch and watched the cockpit door slide open, revealing the huge, vast glittering space before him, along with the EVA unit. He exited his Gundam quickly and grabbed the long coils of cables on his way out. As he floated weightlessly through the desolate place he caught a glimpse of a large flat bed attached to the back of his Gundam, a strange sight indeed considering this was nothing like any mission he'd pulled off before. 

Heero worked as quickly and efficiently as he could, never letting his pounding heart or his nagging inner voice slow him down once. Once he was finished tying the cords around the giant, he trailed them back to his Gundam and to a small reeling device hooked to the back of the trailer. If everything went the way it was supposed to, the EVA unit would land on the trailer and all Heero would have to do was hook the rest of the cables to the loops on the sides and take off back down to Earth. He hopped inside his Gundam and pressed the button that began dragging the EVA unit through the weightless atmosphere. 

The wary pilot leaned back in his seat and sighed deeply, leaning his head back against the seat and staring out at the stars stretched across his vision.

_I don't see why Zechs liked space so much. It's too quiet in my opinion. Maybe because it makes one feel of death. It's so quiet you think you're dead…and Zechs always seemed to want to end his life one way or another. What kept him around for so long? His sister? Perhaps…_

__Suddenly a patch of stars seemed to just blot out of the sky, becoming completely black. Heero shot up and narrowed his eyes.

"What was that?" he hissed. Before he could even move to close the hatch a black shape came rushing in his direction, slamming in to the Gundam and nearly sending him falling out. Wing, Heero, and the EVA unit were all thrown for a loop, and Heero barely had a chance to recover before he saw himself surrounded by ten huge, evil looking black EVA units that resembled the white ones on Earth. 

_God…Duo where are you when I need you?_


	9. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Duo stared at the white ceiling, wishing his stomach would stop hurting. Ever since he'd woken up from his horrible nightmare, his stomach felt like some one was squeezing a clamp down on it, and his mouth had the consistency of sandpaper. He glanced nervously at Asuka, who was snoozing in a near by chair. He'd been allowed to get up out of the hospital bed, once he'd been thoroughly checked over by the doctors, however the sick feeling that just wouldn't go away persuaded his usually stubborn self to remain in the bed. 

_Something's wrong…I can feel it. I shouldn't have flipped out on Une like that. I should have just gone along with the mission like Quatre did. _

__Asuka shifted in her sleep, and muttered something softly under her breath. 

_But that's not you, is it Duo? You always open your mouth before you speak, don't you? God! You are such a baka! No wonder Heero couldn't stand to be with me! I never shut up, even when I knew I should have! Now I really could have fucked things up…_

__As if on cue, the alarms suddenly started going off loudly around him. The main power shut off and everything began flashing red. Asuka screamed and jumped, falling out her chair and landing hard on her butt.

"What's going on!" She hollered, very frightened.

"I don't-"

"We have incoming, I repeat we have incoming!" a voice came over the intercoms, "All hands to the R and D Room immediately!"

Duo jumped out of the bed and rushed to Asuka's side.

"It's the guys! Something's wrong!" he exclaimed as he pulled her off the ground and out the door. The two of them ran full speed down the hallways, along with many other officials that were rushing to their stations. Duo's heart was in his throat the whole time. Something was seriously wrong and he was almost afraid to find out what it was. 

Finally they made it to the control room where people were frantically buzzing around.

"What's going on, Une!" Duo demanded once he found the tiny woman.

"We've got a serious problem, Duo. Heero got attacked by several black EVA units while he was retrieving Unit-01." Une said, not playing any games with the braided pilot this time.

"Black EVA units?!" Asuka shrieked, suddenly feeling light headed.

_God…Commander Ikari was right…the mass EVA units…they evolved!_

__"What?! Heero got attacked! Crap!" Duo cured angrily, glancing at Asuka who was looking very pale and shaken, "Asuka?"

"I'm…fine." She assured him softly. Shinji walked over and put his arm around her shoulder comfortingly, knowing exactly what the girl was thinking. Even so, he chose to remain quiet in this tense situation. 

"…is Trowa…injured…I repeat, Heero…severely injured!" Trowa's broken voice came over the staticy com system. Lady Une reached over and grabbed the intercom microphone system.

"We need a medic team to the R and D room now!" 

"We're on it, Miss Une!" some one replied. 

"Attempting…return now. Please advise," Trowa started again over the com system, "Heero…severely injured and locked…Wing Gundam. Sandrock…almost non-functional, Quatre…injured as well. Altron…functional. Heavyarms…need of repair. This…Trowa, over…out."

Duo leaned against the console behind him and took in a ragged breath. 

"I hope your happy, Une…" he muttered. Lady Une turned her angry brown eyes on the Deathsycthe pilot.

"You think I like watching my entire operation fall apart around me?" she snapped bitterly.

"You think I like the thought of my best friend dying in his Gundam!" Duo shouted back. Before Une even had a chance to retaliate Asuka pointed to the R and D room.

"Duo! The portal!" she exclaimed. Duo spun on his heel and watched as the gigantic metal frame came to life, a swirling mass of blues and greens appearing inside it. With a loud crash the wounded Wing ZERO came falling through, being pushed from behind by a barely standing Heavyarms, which was also pulling the huge trailer that contained EVA unit-01.

"They got it?!" Lady Une exclaimed, half surprised and half ecstatic.

"My God…" Asuka muttered upon seeing that accursed unit.

"I never thought I'd see that again…" Shinji chimed, swallowing the huge lump in his throat.

"I never wanted to see it again…" Asuka added. 

"Heero…Heero!" Duo cried out, taking off out of the control room and down a flight of stairs at breakneck speed. Pushing past officials and guards, paying no attention to their demands for him to stop, Duo blasted through the doors of the R and D room, his heart pounding in fear for his best friend. Trowa and Wufei had just come stumbling out of their Gundams in a daze as Duo rushed by, grabbing Wing ZERO's tether without so much as a greeting to his fellow pilots and tugging on it. The tether went taught above his hand and began reeling him up to the Gundam's cockpit.

Grabbing the burning hot metal emergency release, Duo yanked back hard and was overjoyed when the cockpit door hissed slowly open. He jumped up on it before it was even all the way open and leaned in to the dark cockpit, finding a very beat up and barely breathing Heero strapped haphazardly in to his seat. With shaking hands Duo unhooked his belt and Heero came falling limply in to Duo's arms. 

"Heero! Heero say something! Come on wake up Heero!" Duo yelled, shaking Heero roughly. The Wing pilot groaned and slowly opened his eyes. 

"D…Duo?" he muttered, a tiny bit of blood trickling from his mouth. Duo had honestly never seen Heero in such bad shape. He'd always thought as Heero as pretty indestructible, but some how…something had really done him over this time. 

"Geez…" Duo breathed with a tiny grin, "Those EVA's really fucked you over bad, Heero." 

"Yeah…they sure did…" Heero agreed, struggling to sit up.

"Don't. You'll just hurt yourself more." Duo ordered him, even though his voice was quavering with worry. Heero looked like he was hanging on by just a thread, and even for 'The Perfect Soldier', that wasn't much.

"I'm fine." Heero protested, coughing violently. 

"No, you're not…Heero what happened out there?" Duo asked his friend, wishing the damn medics would hurry up and get the lift up to the platform. 

"I…" Heero trailed off, suddenly becoming quiet.

"Heero?" Duo asked again, looking at his friend. Heero's eyes rolled back in his head and his breathing became ragged, "Heero! HEERO!" 

A/N: I know, I'm being evil again! But I'll probably have more up today considering I'm home sick and can't go anywhere. Oh joy…oh rapture…so, keep checking back, I should have a few more chapters up today! JA!__

__

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	10. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Asuka stood in the doorway of Duo's room, watching the poor boy thrash about in his sleep. The entire day had just been a living nightmare for Duo, and Asuka honestly felt sorry for him. She'd been debating whether or not she should tell him about Gendo Ikari's theory on the mass produced EVA units, but in the end decided it was something best left unsaid. There was really no way to tell, even with the other Gundam pilots' confirmation of several black EVA units, if what Gendo had said was true. 

Suddenly Duo cried out loudly and bucked as though he were in pain. Asuka gasped and rushed over, grabbing Duo's shoulders and holding him down to the bed.

"Duo! Wake up!" she yelled at him, praying he would hear her. He struggled under her grasp, his eyes squeezed tightly shut. Asuka wondered if she was going to have to slap him again, but Duo's eyes shot open and he gasped for air as though some one had been strangling him, "Duo! It's okay! It was just another dream!" Asuka cried out.

"Dream…?" he muttered, sitting up and holding his head, "Yeah…a dream…" he muttered, becoming very dazed. Asuka pulled herself tall and stared at the young pilot.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, very worried about Duo. Duo stood up and shook his head, adjusting his twisted shirt and walking towards the window.

"How did you know I was having another night mare?" Duo asked, deliberately avoiding Asuka's question. 

"I heard you." Asuka responded, wrapping her arms around herself tightly. 

"Then how come Shinji isn't awake?" 

"Shinji? He sleeps like the dead…" Asuka watched Duo staring out the window for a minute and sighed, knowing exactly what was on his mind, "It wasn't your fault." 

"How can you say that?" Duo demanded, his voice cracking with emotion, "Heero and Quatre are in the hospital now, Heero's barely hanging on, and it _is _my fault!" he yelled, clenching his fist in the air and trying to fight back the tears that threatened to come. 

"Duo! There was nothing you could have done! If you would have gone you would have just wound up in as bad of a condition as them!" Asuka explained passionately, feeling her heart skip a beat, "There's no way you guys could have known that the EVAs evolved!" Asuka gasped and clamped her hand over her mouth, her blue eyes becoming wide as Duo slowly turned around.

"What did you just say?" he demanded.

"Nothing…" Asuka squeaked through her hand, trying to back out the door. Duo took a few steps forward.

"You just said the EVAs evolved. You know something, don't you?" 

"No…"Asuka continued to back up, but Duo grabbed her arm and jerked her roughly forward.

"What do you know? Tell me!" he demanded, shaking her hard. 

"Ahh!" Asuka cried out, trying to push away from the infuriated pilot, "I don't know anything, I swear!" she yelled at him. It was true, Asuka was one tough cookie when it came to messing with her, but two things were preventing her from even fighting back against Duo. One, she didn't want to hurt him, and two, she was still weak from living three years in a place where she and Shinji had to scrounge for food. She knew it would take months before she ever got back up to her full strength. Until then she was helpless even against some one like Duo. 

"Tell me!" Duo bellowed, squeezing Asuka's wrist tighter and trying to pull the girl closer. He wasn't sure what was coming over him, just that he was suddenly very, very angry and Asuka was the closest person to take it out on. 

"Duo! Stop it you're hurting me! SHINJI!" Asuka shrieked, thrashing about and trying desperately to just pull away. She opened her eyes and saw a fearful sight. Once again Duo had gained that evil look, the same one he had in the hallway of the Preventers HQ. The balcony doors swung open, loudly slamming in to the walls and sending a huge gust of wind howling through the room.

Asuka felt fear take over her heart and she became paralyzed, unable to even move her hands. Tears fell down her cheeks as she looked in to Duo's angry violet eyes.

"Duo…please…" she begged, her voice shaking and her throat tight. Finally the fire died in Duo's eyes, and he stumbled forward, letting go of Asuka's wrist. Asuka cried out in surprise and reached out to catch him, both of them falling to their knees on the floor.

"God…what the hell is happening to me?" Duo muttered, holding his head in his hands. Asuka pulled him close to her body, feeling Duo shake violently.

"You're stressed." Asuka reasoned, quickly wiping her tears away.

"No…something else…" Duo groaned and pulled back a little, seeing Asuka's tears still shining in her eyes, "I didn't mean to hurt you, Asuka." He told her gently, brushing his shaking hand along her cheek. Asuka turned a little red and shook her head. 

"I'm fine. You just scared me a little, that's all."

"Maybe you guys shouldn't stay here…" Duo muttered, gazing down at the ground.

"Duo…listen to me. If something's going on, that's fine. You don't have to run away from us just because you're afraid you're going to hurt us." Asuka told him comfortingly, softly running her hand down his mussed braid. Duo nodded slowly.

"Thank you…"

"For what?"

"For understanding…"

Asuka gazed off in to the starry sky and sighed deeply. There was a long, almost comforting silence as the two sat on the ground, Duo still not moving from Asuka's embrace. 

"Asuka?" Duo finally spoke.

"Mmm?" was Asuka's rather mumbled reply. Duo looked up and gazed in to her deep blue eyes, feeling his heart skip a beat.

_With everything that's been going on…I haven't been paying much attention to these two. But…there's something about Asuka…she stayed at my side when I freaked back the HQ. According to Heero she pulled me on to Heavyarms' hand…This girl…what is it about her?_

__"Were you going to say something, Duo?" Asuka asked, breaking in to his thoughts. Duo shook his head and suddenly found himself becoming very red in the face. He quickly detached himself from Asuka's embrace and stood up, running his thin fingers over his thick braided hair nervously.

"I really am sorry about what happened. I shouldn't have flipped out like that." He muttered, toying with his hair. Asuka frowned but quickly replaced the expression with a halfhearted smile. 

"It's fine. Really." She told him, starting to walk out of the room, "I'm going to go back to bed now. If Shinji isn't awake by now he's gonna be up at the crack of dawn kicking me awake." She explained. Duo felt his heart sink, knowing there was something that he should do, something he should say right then, but everything seemed to get all muddled in his brain.

"Asuka I…" Asuka stopped walking and looked over her shoulder, her hair falling in soft pleats around her face. Duo swallowed the hard lump in his throat and took a few steps forward.

"Yes?" she asked him.

"I…don't go." He finally spat out. Asuka turned all the way around, a confused expression adoring her round face.

"What?" she whispered, as though raising her voice would make Duo become angry again. 

"I…" Duo trailed off again, rubbing his still sore shoulder, "I don't want to be alone tonight…" he admitted in an almost child-like voice.

"Why not?" Asuka asked, walking back in to the room and closer to Duo.

"I…keep having really bad dreams." He confessed, "I feel like they're connected to what keeps happening to me…" he let out a ragged sob and collapsed on his bed, his head once again in his hands. Asuka, feeling sorry for the tormented pilot, walked over and sat down beside him, gently rubbing his back.

"What kind of dreams?"

"I'm standing…" he started, sniffling and running his hands through his hair, laying them back down in his lap and leaning forward, "Oh, that feels good." He muttered, dropping his head down as Asuka' rubbed his back.

"I'll keep doing it if you tell me about your dreams." She offered with a smile. 

"Fine…" Duo said, keeping his head down, "I'm standing in this place…it's like all foggy and the trees around me are dead and twisted. I hear voices but I can't make out what they're saying. And this woman appears…she's like completely shadowed and has these huge black wings and she keeps saying 'Come back to us, Duo.' But that's not the worst part." 

"What is then?"

"When she comes towards me I can actually see her face and it's…" Duo took in a ragged breath, the images of his dream coming back to him in a flash flood of memories, "nothing but a decomposed skull…it was so gross." 

"God…I bet it was. So that's why you don't want to be alone?" Asuka finally asked.

"I just feel like I'm loosing myself…" Duo admitted, "All my life I've never really known who I was. I don't know who my parents are, I can't remember my past and…when I start having dreams about strange winged women and going in to complete rages…it makes me wonder…who…what I really am." 

Asuka sighed deeply and ceased rubbing Duo's back, causing him to sit up and look at her.

"Duo…you are who you think you are." She told him softly. 

"But I can't…I don't know who I am, that's just the point." Duo sobbed, feeling tears well up in his eyes, "Am I a pilot, am I a teenager? All I know is that I'm not normal…I've never been." 

Asuka took Duo's face in her hands and looked him straight in his watery violet orbs. 

"You are a pilot, you're a teenager, and you are yourself. Just don't worry about anything else, because I'm not." Asuka suddenly blurted out again. She found herself turning red in her cheeks, "I'm going now…" she said quickly, standing up and trying to head for the door. Duo grabbed her wrist, but this time it was a gentle grab, a pleading one that was like that of a small child begging his parent not to leave.

"Asuka…wait." Duo sighed, standing up with his hand still on her wrist, "I really want you to stay."

"Because you're scared?" Asuka snapped rather haughtily, trying to hide her red cheeks by not facing the young man.

"No…for other reasons…" Duo whispered, leaning closer to her. Asuka slowly turned around, feeling her heart leap to her throat. The next thing she knew Duo's lips where on hers, and her arm was around his neck as they embraced in a passionate kiss. Asuka's heart was fluttering in her chest and she suddenly felt as if she were on top of the world. 

She pulled back as though a snake had bit her and gave Duo an instant death glare. She pulled her hand back and brought it down right across Duo's cheek, leaving a very large red mark. Duo stumbled back, holding his throbbing cheek in his hand and looking at Asuka with wide, innocent eyes, unable to bring himself to speak.

Asuka's expression softened and she rushed forward, wrapping Duo in a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" she babbled, giving Duo a heated kiss. 

"It's okay, it's all right, Asuka…" Duo breathed, running his large hand through her soft auburn hair. 

"I don't know what came over me…forgive me." Asuka pleaded, breathing heavily.

"I forgive you…" Duo laughed, placing his warm lips on hers again. The two of them exchanged passionate kisses for a few minutes before Duo finally pulled back, gasping for air but smiling happily.

"Now will you stay?"

"Hai…" 

A/N: You knew I was going to do it. I mean, zuh, people, if Elf could figure it out by the second chapter, I think maybe it was obvious I was gonna pull that eventually. You know you like it! You know you do!! *laughs* More to come…as soon as a satisfy all those damn Backstreet fans and get another set of chapters up on Angel Eyes 2…*sigh* Never start projects that you're gonna get killed for if you never finish…


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